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The Iron Giant (character)
"Giant" by what Hogarth names him The Iron Giant is the deuteragonist of the Warner Bros. 1999 animated science fiction film of the same name, voiced by Vin Diesel. He is a genial 50-foot tall autonomous robot from another world that crash lands on Earth before becoming friends with a young boy named Hogarth who rescues him from his own internal defensive mechanism. The Iron Giant is loosely based on the title character of The Iron Man, a 1968 novel by Ted Hughes. Official Warner Bros. Website :: A 50-foot, metal-eating robot with a pleasant, inquisitive demeanor enters Hogarth's life and changes everything. With eyes that change color according to his mood, parts that transform and reassemble, and an innocent heart, he becomes best friend, coolest toy, and immortal hero to Hogarth. He learns that you are who you choose to be and uses his strength for good rather that destruction, proving to the world that he recognizes the value of human life. Personality While capable of incredible destructive powers and equipped with highly advanced and destructive weaponry, he is rendered benign by damage to his head. After meeting and befriending Hogarth, the boy teaches him to use his strength for good rather than destruction, proving to the world that he recognizes the value of life. He enjoys playing with Hogarth, Superman and creating sculptures with Dean. While normally peaceful after Hogarth saves his life, the Giant reacts defensively if he recognizes anything as a weapon, immediately attempting to destroy it, but at first couldn't stop himself until later when he had learned to control it. His eye color changes slightly comparing his eyes at night to day, at night changing from a white glow to more yellow-ish white glow, and usually are white in the day. His eye's also turn red when his robotic part of him is triggered into defense mode by the spotting of a weapon or when he is being attacked. Role in the Film The Iron Giant is a large 50 foot metal robot of alien origin, and the deuteragonist of the film of the same name, adapted from the original novel by Ted Hughes, The Iron Man. Though built as a weapon, the Giant's crash landing on Earth made him loose his memory, leaving him with a childlike sense of wonder. The dent on his head is an indicator of this. The Giant is well-armed but will only use his weapons in self-defense, is capable of flight and can also repair himself with a homing beacon in his head. The Iron Giant has eyes that glow and can change to red when threatened or angry and parts that transform and reassemble. He is also indestructible to almost anything. The Iron Giant's diet consists only of metal. In 1957, the Giant came to Earth and crash-landed off the coast of Rockwell, Maine. After terrifying a fisherman by the name of Earl Stutz, who called the government upon his return to land, the Giant wandered into the town's nearby woodlands after eating a few vehicles, and set his sights upon devouring a power station. He would have been shocked to death had nine year old Hogarth Hughes not been searching for the culprit who ate their TV antenna and shut the power down. The Giant continued to eat local pieces of machinery and later re-encountered Hogarth, befriends him and then proceeds to follow him home. The Giant was seen by one of the train's engineers Frank Thomas after the train hit the Iron Giant, who was trying to fix the railroad tracks that he was trying to eat earlier. This led to him being hunted down by obsessive government agent Kent Mansley, after following the train engineers's suggestion on where to find a phone. Kent leaves only to figure out that the BB gun that he was in possession of was Hogarths since Hog Hug was the only thing left of Hogarth's name on the gun. To try to get Hogarth to tell Kent about the whereabouts of the Giant, Kent rented the room that was for rent at the Hughes's residence. Slowly, the Giant began to learn, through Hogarth's teachings, how to speak his language, about right and wrong, life and death, and some elements of culture, specifically Superman, who Hogarth thought the Giant could relate to since Superman also crash landed on Earth and had to learn everything. After relocating the Giant to a Junkyard owned by beatnik artist Dean McCoppin, Hogarth spent much of his days having fun with the Giant while keeping his existence a secret. Nevertheless, Mansley called the army and General Rogard after interrogating Hogarth into revealing the Giant's whereabouts, but Hogarth and Dean were quickly able to disguise the Giant as another one of Dean's art projects. A short time after, the Giant's automatic defense mechanisms activated when Hogarth pointed a toy gun at him pretending he was the evil robot Atomo, and Hogarth was almost killed by the Giant's eye beams. The Giant didn't seem to understand what he was doing or what happened. Dean was quick to dismiss the Giant, calling him "a big gun" and ignoring The Iron Giant saying, "No, I not gun." After Hogarth left in pursuit, Dean noticed Hogarth's gun, realized that he was only acting defensively, and went to help. Unfortunately, Mansley spotted the Giant behind him after the Giant had rescued two boys in danger of falling off of a very high height from a building and lied to the army saying that The Iron Giant was attacking the city. The Giant and Hogarth fled, resorting to flight after falling off a cliff, but when they were in air, The Iron Giant with Hogarth in his hands was being attacked by an US Army Jet fighter and after the Giant not trying to harm the Jet trying to get a hit, he manages to get a shot in on the Giant and knock him and Hogarth out of air. Hogarth was knocked out unconscious after the Giant was hit by a surface-to-air missile from the Jet. The Giant thought Hogarth was dead since Hogarth wasn't moving or responding and the Giant was distraught. When the army fired at him again when he was on the ground, the Giant snapped from what seemed like his best friend was dead, activating his defense system that he has been trying to fight from his metal suit, seeming to relinquish his gentle nature and firing in defense upon the army. The only available option to the army was to fire a nuclear missile from the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), according to General Rogard and Mansley. Before it could be fired, Hogarth recovered and confronted the Giant. The Giant recognized his friend and stopped his suit's defense system and returned to normal after Hogarth told the Giant that he didn't have to be a gun, "Its bad to kill. Guns kill. And you don't have to be a gun. You are what you choose to be. You choose." and the Giant chose not to be a gun. Mansley swiped the radio from the General ordering that the missile be fired anyway, ignoring the fact that everyone (the army included) was told and shown that The Iron Giant is good, and the missile was targeted on the Giant's current position which was where everyone was standing. Hogarth explained to The Iron Giant that when the missile hits, that everyone was going to die. The Giant was saddened by what would happen and looked at the missile as if was going up in air and made his decision by saying "I fix." After telling Hogarth "you stay, I go, no following", mirroring one of the first things Hogarth said to him, he took off into space, heading straight for the missile. Bracing himself for impact, Hogarth's words of "you are who you choose to be" rang though the Giant's head, and he said his decision to himself before the crash: "Superman." meaning he wanted to help and save people like Superman and that's what he is choosing to do. Some time later, Dean had built a statue in the Giant's memory, which was erected in town, and Hogarth received a package from General Rogard which was the jaw bolt from the Giant, it was the only part the army could find. That night however, the bolt began tapping against the window and glowing as though trying to get out. Remembering about the Giant self-repairing and the different pieces of him that glow when their trying to get back to him, Hogarth let it go free and opened the window for it to fall out, saying "see you later." The Giant's parts were converging upon a glacier in Iceland, where the Giant's head was, still alive and laying laying in the snow and smiling. He was repairing himself again and possibly would return to Rockwell with hopefully a better greeting and to see Hogarth and everyone else once more. Relationships Hogarth: The Iron Giant becomes best freinds with Hogarth from him saving his life and showing The Iron Giant good and teaching him to not be just a mindless soldier (or just a gun). Dean: After thinking Dean was trying to kidnap the only person that was The Iron Giant's friend and only person he had known at that time but Hogarth showing him that he was just scared, he quickly friends him and gains another best friend. Dean also teaches The Iron Giant the fundamental difference between artwork made and thought of from the inside... and just delicious scrap metal. Dean also provides The Iron Giant a place to sleep and as well as a place to eat and kept him well fed. He had helped him as any good friend would and should do. Powers/Abilities Immense Strength and Size Because of his size, the Giant can perform incredible feats of strength. He is strong enough to rip apart metal structures with his hands, lift boulders like pebbles, uproot trees, and karate chop vehicles into stopping. Indestructibility Made from an unknown alloy, the Giant's armor renders him completely invulnerable to harm although he can still feel pain as of pain from a rocket hitting his back. He has survived being hit by an oncoming freight train and can withstand machine-gun and missile fire along with multiple high-caliber rounds from tanks, artillery, and battleships. Perhaps the most impressive display of the Giant's invulnerability was surviving a head-on collision with a nuclear missile. Self-Repairing Function Whenever the Giant is smashed to pieces, an antenna on his head sends out a homing beacon to the scattered parts, automatically repairing himself. There appears to be no known limit to the beacon's range, and it can be detected as far away as Iceland. Flight The Giant's feet house rocket thruster's allowing him to fly. The rockets are powerful enough to leave Earth's atmosphere and travel through space at tremendous speeds, and the Giant himself can fly fast enough to outrun and outmaneuver a military fighter jet. Matter Ingestion The Giant regularly consumes metallic objects as a form of sustenance. When hungry, his stomach groans similar to an organic lifeform. Dream projection A deleted scene reveals that the Giant can subconsciously broadcast his dreams and memories on electronic devices, shown when his memories of the deer and a war on an alien world are broadcast on Dean's television. Weaponry The Iron Giant is equipped with seven different kinds of armament that are far superior to any human weapons. The armaments themselves use an unknown type of green energy, enabling virtually limitless ammunition. The weapons themselves do not have official names. Arm Cannon On his right arm, the giant's arm retracts to reveal a massive cannon similar to a tank gun. The weapon itself fires a blast of green energy that explodes on contact with the target. Laser Vision Similar to Superman's heat vision, the giant can emit powerful laser beams out of his eyes that effectively burns straight through metal surfaces. Tri Scorpion Cannons Three scorpion tail-like cannons that comes out of the giants back. The tails appear to target enemies with a spotlight before firing. Although the weapons use spotlights, they appear to not be heavily accurate and more designed to maximize destruction. Energy Claw On his left arm, the giant's arm retracts to reveal another cannon with a claw mounted at the end. The claw fires a sphere of green energy that appears to levitate and vaporize a target on contact. Laser Spiner Gun A rotating disc atop the arm cannon that, when the top is repeatedly contacted by two extendable mechanical needles, fires small laser bullets at multiple targets. The laser bullets impact and are implied to destroy the vehicles it hits. It was used on several M41 Walker Bulldog tanks, all of which had a cloud of smoke after impact around them. Energy Cannon In the center of the the giant's chest, he can charge a big green plasma ball to fire at a large target. Its effect and blast radius is similar to a nuclear bomb. This is assumed to be the most powerful weapon in the Giant's arsenal. Origin According to a deleted scene available in the signature edition, the Iron Giant comes from a planet-destroying alien army of robots; the reason as to why this army exist and their purpose are unknown. It is also unknown whether the Giant came to Earth by mistake or if he was sent here, although the fact that he damages his AI landing on Earth suggests that the landing was not planned or was performed poorly. Memorable quotes *"I am NOT a gun." *"Souls don't die..." *"No Atomo... I Superman." *"Hogarth, you stay... I go... no following." *"Superman." Reception The character was well received by critics and audiences. Vin Diesel's voice performance as the Giant was praised for being able to deliver a genuine personality to the character. The Iron Giant ranked #1 on WatchMojo.com's Top 10 Saddest Robot Deaths.Top 10 Saddest Robot Deaths in Movies and TV WatchMojo.com. Sep. 22, 2014Top 10 Saddest Robot Deaths YouTube. WatchMojo.com Trivia *The specific creator of the giant is never revealed and unknown. The only hint comes in the opening sequence, specifically that the giant comes from somewhere beyond the Earth's moon. It can also be inferred from his weapons that the giant was sent to Earth for non-peaceful purposes. (Note: From a deleted scene from the film, he has a brief vision of robots similar to him destroying a different planet, which can suggest that the Iron Giant originally was a weapon of mass destruction and the giant's original objective was to destroy the planet.) However, the dream sequence suggests it arrived on Earth by accident. *He is voiced by Vin Diesel with some computer effects added; other actors such as Sean Connery, Frank Welker, and James Earl Jones were also considered to do the voice. *The Iron Giant appeared in the 2018 film, Ready Player One. It is first shown as being under construction within the OASIS as a commission for a patron. Later, it is used used to fight in the battle to save the OASIS against Nolan Sorento and his army of Sixers. Gallery References Category:Characters Category:Major Characters